Last November Chris Connor was making furniture in his garage for a restaurant he was designing. In a split second his life took a drastic change.
Connor says the piece of wood he was working with had a nail in it and it struck the blade, pulling his right hand into it. Connor says he saw two of his fingers dangling and began to lose a lot of blood.
Unable to use his cellphone to call 911, the 53 year old Connor went across the street to a neighbors house, but no one was home.
As panic and shock began to set in, Connor started walking back to his house when he spotted his long time postal carrier, Roger Vaad. Connor urgently asked Vaad if he had a phone, but he was without his that day.
They were able to find Connor's phone in the garage. Vaad used Connor's thumb to unlock the smartphone and called 911. Vaad then waited with Connor until paramedics arrived. Connor lost his ring finger and part of his pinkie. He also severely cut his middle and pointer fingers.
On Thursday morning, the 65 year old Vaad was honored for his heroic efforts during a ceremony at the post office at Boystown. Vaad received a letter of commendation for his actions from U.S. Postmaster General Megan J. Brennan.
Connor was there to publicly thank Vaad for saving his life. He said Vaad normally stops at his house around 2:00 each day. On this day, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Vaad was 90 minutes early. “Somebody sent him early that day.” Connor said.